Catching a Break
by Cabba
Summary: Sally tells Harry and Percy how she met Poseidon. Then she recalls her encounter with Patrick. Years later, she falls in love hard. No not Paul Blofis. Somebody else... Not what you'd expect. Sally is a bit OOC. Kimberly and Patrick are introduced. Mentions Harry Potter elements. Companion to the Pumki series.
1. Catching Trains

**This is the story of how Sally met Poseidon. Pumki version!**

**Sally is a bit OOC, but I like her personality as I've written. Harry and Percy are six years old when the fic starts and the beginning and end of the story is post-Pumki and pre-Her Choices.**

**Slight mention of HP elements.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HP. RR and JKR do.**

**Words – 3365**

* * *

Percy rolled and rolled until he fell out of the bed with a thump.

Harry sighed. "Perce…"

"What? I don't wanna sleep." The younger boy said his face on the ground. It was raining and flashes of lightning didn't make the situation any better. Thunder rumbled and Percy scrambled back on to the bed, curling next to Harry.

"It's just sound." Harry reassured him.

"Loud sound. I don't like it. It's as if someone's real angry." Percy mumbled and Harry rubbed his back.

Lightning flashed again and the night-light went out. In the darkness, Harry heard footsteps.

"Monsters!" Percy hissed. Harry put the pillow as defense and the door opened to reveal Sally Jackson, looking tired but alert.

"Are you both alright?" She whispered. It sounded loud though.

"Yes."

She sighed and got into bed with them. "Try to go to sleep."

"We'll try, but I don't think we'll sleep." Harry said as thunder hit their eardrums again.

"It's ten in the night. Close your eyes and count humming birds going backwards." Sally whispered, adjusting their positions.

"I never understood that." Harry mused.

"Sheep was too boring for me. It's humming bird that's better. They're prettier. Plus, sheep already follow Little Bo Beep, so why do they have to come here?"

Percy giggled and Harry stared at his mother. She was a little crazy when she said stuff like that.

"Tell us a story." Percy whispered.

"Like what?" Sally asked, looking down at him. Though, it was dark, she could see a small light reflected in his eyes.

"When you met Dad." Percy said and Harry looked alert.

Sally didn't actually want to. Kimberly would be there and she missed Poseidon a lot. But she could almost hear the mental chant in Percy's head, 'Please, please, please…'

"Okay. But you should close your eyes. That way you can picture it. Our meeting wasn't exactly romantic. It was bordering on recklessness and a bit of stupidity."

"Bor-der-ing?"

"You know what I mean. Now, shush. And close those eyes or I shall tickle you."

"I'm not ticklish." Harry said.

"Yes, you are." Sally reached for his face and he jerked back.

"Now listen up and quiet down."

* * *

"We're going to miss it!" Kimberly cried, hoisting two more huge bags over her shoulder and running as fast as she could along with her sister who couldn't stop talking.

"Of course, not. Look, we can run faster than the train's speed –"

"The train's going faster!"

"We're going to miss it!" Sally shouted moving faster and trying to get into the door. A teenage boy standing there had the door open urging them to go faster.

"Here, take the bags!" Sally cried. There were four large bags, two handbags and a pillow pet. Or it could have been a teddy bear. The boy then grabbed Kimberly's hand and pulled her in. Then he helped Sally.

Not a second too soon. They had run out of platform.

The Jackson sisters panted and Sally looked at the boy who had pulled her in, "Thanks a lot! But you can let go of my hand, now. I'm not that pretty, am I?"

The boy blushed and went into the compartment. Sally and Kimberly looked at each other and burst out in silent giggles.

The train went faster and the sun had already set. The girls dragged their luggage as everyone stared at them.

"That was luck! I didn't break my shoe this time! I can't wait for tomorrow. I hope the water will be cool enough. I can almost smell it!"

"Sally, calm down! What's our berth number?" Kim asked. Her sister took out the tickets and read, "34 and 35. It's on the side."

Kimberly looked ahead and saw that a young man was sitting there.

"I think that's it." She said and Sally pushed past her.

"Excuse me. But that's our place. It's on our ticket. Could you please move?"

The man slowly looked at her. He had a tanned face which was clean-shaven. He hard dark blue-green eyes and would have looked young if not for the aged expression. As if he had a huge burden. He stared at Sally not really comprehending her words.

"This-is-our-seat." Sally said slowly with hand actions. Her arm nearly hit Kimberly.

The man got up and sat on the other side, frowning at the ground. The sisters stuffed their bags in the space below and Kimberly said, "I'm going to sleep."

"It's only nine thirty!"

"I got up early today, Sally. Goodnight." She went on the top berth and Sally sat down and smiled at the stranger.

"So, where are you going? My sister and I are going on vacation. This brilliant place recommended by my friend! I'm going to get her a souvenir. You look beat up. Are you going to stay awake the whole night? Don't you have any luggage? If you want a pillow, you can take this. This stuffed bear works as a pillow too!"

Poseidon stared at the young girl who couldn't shut her mouth for a second. She kept talking about nonsensical things like the mornings rate at a Café, her new hairstyle, her shopping spree with her sister and the reason why they were late.

"It's like that not so old saying, 'Too many stylists, ruin the art'. I made myself. What do you think? Hey! Where are you going?"

Poseidon decided to just jump off the train. The bridge was coming soon and he could take a good swim. It might make him feel better. Amphitrite could just go and keep complaining. He wasn't going to change the way he thought.

He opened the door, making sure the other mortals were asleep. He went to the outer door and slid it open without the ringing. He saw the long bridge coming and sighed. He stepped further out of the door but someone shouted, "Hey!"

Turning around, he saw that it was her.

"What are you doing?! Bungee jumping? But you don't have a rope! Not that I'd give you one! Please come here! Don't tell me you were about to jump!" Sally said her voice rising.

Poseidon stared at her.

"Can't you hear me?" She asked softly. "Are you deaf? Or dumb?" She asked and when he didn't answer, she took his hand and pulled him away from the door.

"It's alright. We can just sit down and look out the window. Come on." She led him back to their place and made him sit down in his spot. She pretended to hold a mike and said, "Let's take a deep calm breath."

She took in a huge amount of air and held it waiting for him to do so. He stared at her and then took in a deep breath.

She smiled, her cheeks pink and puffed up. She gestured with her hands to hold it and then let it out with a relieved a sigh.

"Do you feel better, now?" She asked and held the invisible mike to his face. He shrugged.

"Okay, now what's troubling you, young lad? Grades? Family? Girls? Life?"

Poseidon stared at her not understanding where she got the energy to still talk.

"A bad break up? It's a bad break-up, isn't it? Yeah, sometimes I feel down in the dumps and once I actually ended there after throwing my heels in the trash and then jumping in to retrieve them. Yeah, I'm a hopeless case. Look, I don't talk much, but I can easily get rid of your broken heart."

Sally waved her hands like an assistant for a magician and pretended to hold a small card.

"You take a photo of that girl. She should have a stupid smile. Now you might have thought that her smiles where wonderful and all, but now you'll feel the opposite. Rip the photos into pieces, burn them and flush them down the toilet."

She carried out the actions and looked back at him, "I will give the full guarantee of complete satisfaction. You will feel 256 times better. Don't ask me why 256 times. I just like the number."

She leaned in and whispered like a conspiracy secret, "256 is actually awesome. It's the square of a square of a square! 16 square. 16 is 4 square and four is 2 square. 256 is 2 raised to 8. I like 2, because, 2 is the number of family members I got, even if one of them is completely useless. 8? Well, I'm not really sure. But sometimes, I feel like there are eight days in a week. Sunday to Saturday. And then the new Monday is just so different! It's like a separate entity!"

Poseidon gaped at her as she babbled away. Finally, she said, "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to rainbow land with all the ponies. Goodnight!"

With that, she went under her covers. Poseidon stared at her and realized that she was still muttering.

He leaned back and smiled. Maybe that was what he needed. A cheer-up. He couldn't actually burn Amphitrite's photo and flush them, but imagining it would be a bit delightful. The truth was he did love her but after a few millennia, you tend to focus more on winning the arguments.

When the train stopped at one o'clock at some old station, Poseidon decided to get down. He liked walking around the slightly-less urban areas. There were more trees and the freshness in the air was intangible.

He walked on the platform and sat on an old bench, breathing in the musty smell of it.

* * *

Sally suddenly jerked when the train started moving. She blinked and looked around. Oh, yeah! They were in a train. She got up to make sure that Kim was fast asleep. Then she looked to see the empty compartment.

Where was he? Maybe getting some snacks to eat. He didn't look sleepy when she had seen him, but something about him made him a permanent thought in her head. She couldn't help but worry.

Sally went outside to look past the door and saw him sitting on a bench in the platform. What was he doing there? The train was moving!

"Hey!" She called. Her voice was a bit rough due to sleep but she cleared her throat and got down to make sure to keep walking along with the train.

"Hey, sir! The train's leaving! Come on!"

The man seemed to be in deep thought, fiddling with his shirt. Sally let out a breath and ran to him.

"Excuse me! Can't you see? The train's going! Get up!" Sally roughly shook his shoulder and he turned around with a start.

"I think you are deaf! Get up!" Sally cried.

Poseidon looked at her and then at the train which was gathering speed.

"Arghh! Forget it!" Sally shot him a dirty look and ran after the locomotive, screaming "Wait! Wait for me! At least slowdown you inanimate boulder on wheels! Somebody pull the chain!"

But the train was too fast and with a last whistle, it left Sally at the edge of the platform with a look of disbelief on her face.

She was panting, her face was bright pink and her nose felt shiny. She hated it when her nose was shiny. She was in a deserted railway station, alone with about five bucks in her back pocket and had no clue where she was.

She spun around to see that man get up almost leisurely and look at her. Sally stomped back to him.

"Look at what you made me do!" She yelled into his face.

Poseidon blinked at the girl. She was about a head shorter than him and she was screaming at him for something he had no hand in. He hadn't asked her to do anything for him.

"Now, because of your carelessness, I am stranded in the middle of nowhere!"

She looked ready to skin him alive. Poseidon had never met someone with some much power in them. He was a god. The Greek God of the Oceans, no less and here, a mere mortal was shrieking into his face about making her miss her train. He wanted to laugh at the situation but then realized that her eyes were wet.

"I swear, I don't care how, _but you are getting me back on that train_!"

Poseidon looked at her and ran.

Sally stared at his retreating figure in shock. Then she ran after him.

"Thief! Someone catch him. He owes me a ride on the train!" She shouted and followed him. There was no one in the station and most of the people working were half-asleep.

Poseidon ran out of the station and spotted a cab at the opposite side of the road.

Sally reached the top step and saw him talking to the driver of a cab. He looked at her and shouted, "Come on!"

She smiled giddily and ran down the steps. He got in the shot-gun space and she went in behind.

"Let's go!"

The cab driver was muttering with his eyes closed and hands clasped. He had a small idol of a God on the dashboard and was mumbling in a language Sally didn't know.

"Alright! God heard you! Now go, go, go!" She said hitting the seat and bouncing.

The driver started the car and slowly went out the station. He kept singing under his breath and the cab did not go above 20 mph for the next four minutes.

Poseidon closed his eyes controlling himself and Sally's jaw was slack as she stared at the cab driver.

"He's mad! Totally mad!" She hissed to her acquaintance.

Poseidon wholly agreed with her. It was good to worship God. But there was a limit and this man was testing his.

"Stop the car." Poseidon said. He had decided to be completely human and not use any of his powers. He was going to have some fun now.

"What?" The man asked, his calm blue eyes settling on the god.

"I said stop the car, now."

He breaked and the car stopped. Sally groaned, "We won't be able to catch up with the train in the next station! What are you doing?"

Poseidon got out and went around to the drivers place. He opened the door and said, "Get in."

"What?" The driver asked confused.

Poseidon pushed him in and the man was shell-shocked as he sat in the shot-gun space now.

The god took in a deep breath. He hadn't actually driven before. But he was quite sure it started with a key.

He stated the engine and pressed down the accelerator. The car made a 'vroom' sound and shot forwards.

The man screamed and clutched his brown hair and Sally laughed. Poseidon turned a steep curve at 70 mph and she squealed in delight falling down on the seat before pulling herself up.

"What are you doing? You will kill us all!" The man shouted as Poseidon went over 120, now.

"Catching up to a train. And no, I will not kill anyone." He answered calmly, enjoying Sally's laugh. It was carefree and wonderful.

The windows were down and everyone's hair was flying about. Sally spat out a few strands from her mouth and cried, "This is better than a roller-coaster!"

The cab driver started praying loudly and she laughed again as they made another turn and ended on a road parallel to train tracks.

"I can see the train! Faster!" Sally pointed at the distant and Poseidon saw the tail lights.

He pressed down the accelerator and thanked Olympus that the road was straight and smooth.

"Kimmy will never believe this!" Sally yelled. Poseidon laughed, "None of my friends would believe this either!"

"Then let's shock them!" Sally shouted and Poseidon had no wish to go against her.

They went at that speed for a few more minutes before the driver shouted, "Where did you get your driving license?!"

"I didn't." Poseidon yelled and Sally couldn't help but snort.

"The station's coming up!"

Poseidon drove right into the parking lot and pressed the break. With a lot of squealing of tires and some smoke the car stopped.

Poseidon threw a bunch of notes to the man and said, "Keep the change."

He and Sally ran out to the platform and sighed. The train was in front of them and Sally placed her hands on her knees to get her breathe back.

"Go on." Poseidon said and Sally beamed at him.

She ran to her carriage and opened the door. She looked at him, "Aren't you coming?"

Poseidon shook his head.

The train started and Sally held on to the railing by the door.

"Do you know where the last stop is?" Sally asked.

Poseidon searched in his head and said, "Montauk. Why?"

"Do you know what amazing in Montauk?"

"The coast." He said, automatically smiling.

"Exactly. It might be good for you to get away from it all, if you know what I mean. The sea air refreshes the body senses. You'll enjoy it." She said, hoping he'd get on the train which was gathering speed.

Poseidon stared at her. She had a hopeful expression on her face and he didn't want to break it. But he had a feeling that the girl would mean more to him the more he looked at her or even talked to her. Her pale blue eyes were deep and her black hair was coming out of her roughly done pony. Her cheeks were pink and she was breathing a bit hard.

She was beautiful. Her attitude was energetic. He wanted to know what made her like that. What made her smile, what made her happy? He wanted to be the one that made her smile.

"Sometimes, you only get one chance." Sally said looking into the sea coloured irises. For a moment she thought that he had a bluish hallow behind his head. He looked…godly.

He turned away to look at the exit of the station. He saw the driver of the cab they had been in patting the dashboard. The driver saw him looking and drove off, scared.

"What are you doing, Poseidon?" He whispered to himself.

He ran after the train.

Sally grinned and stretched out her hand, palm down-wards, the feminine form of acceptance.

He ran faster and grabbed her hand and she pulled him in. They closed the door, both of them smiling at each other.

"I'm Sally Jackson."

"Poseidon." The man said looking younger than before.

"Like the Greek God?"

"Yes." He grinned.

They stared at each other and jumped when a voice startled them.

"Will you kiss already? The fate of the world depends on it." Kimberly said looking irritated.

"Kimmy! You're up early!"

"Early? Do you know what time is it? Were you standing here for a long time?"

"Nope." Sally and Poseidon said, grinning.

Kimberly frowned at Poseidon and said, "New boyfriend, huh? Tell me. Can you make scrambled eggs?"

Poseidon stared at her, "Yeah."

"Okay. She can't make anything with eggs and I am not cooking breakfast. That's your duty. Don't do anything more than second base in the train."

Kim went back inside leaving a flustered Poseidon and a blushing Sally.

"Uh…"

"Yeah. She's never in a right state of mind when she just wakes up. We stay in cabins at the beach. We don't need to make breakfast, lunch or dinner." Sally muttered.

"May be we should sleep." Poseidon said. When he noticed the expression on Sally's face he also put in, "Not that kind! I mean the regular sleep! With pillows and closed eyes and sub-conscious state!"

Sally giggled and went in. Poseidon sighed. No, he would never meet another woman like her. She had a heart of gold and a smile of platinum and he would offer her both along with his heart.

* * *

"So we met every day and talked and fell in love." Sally whispered. The two boys didn't move and she realized that they were asleep. She kissed their heads and said, "Sweet Dreams, honey. You'll get only one chance to catch the train of good dreams."

* * *

**Not what you expected, huh?**

**I might make it a two-shot. But that might be after a few chapters of 'The Cursed.'**

**Stay tuned!**

**Cabba.**


	2. Catching Cabs

**Glad you liked the first chapter. I changed the title and summary of the story because when I published the first chapter, I wasn't sure of the rest.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Percy Jackson series. Nor do I have anything to do with the Harry Potter characters. I just own the stories I write.**

**Words – 2576**

* * *

The water can had the right size of holes in its spout. She loved to pour water for her flower vase. The seven flowers were blooming and their scents were so intoxicating that she could smell them even through Gabe's stench. That was probably Harry's idea from the start. Speaking of which, where were Harry and Percy?

"Shyong dih!" Percy's shout came from above and Sally rolled her eyes. Percy simply loved the Mandarin word for brother. For the entire week that was what he had been calling Harry.

"MOMMY!" Percy shouted, running to her. Even though he claimed to be all grown up and quite ready to take on the world, Harry would make him run back to her. It was a complete re-enforcement of the saying, 'Make them run back to their mothers.'

The six year old boy ran into Sally's arms as he glared at Harry.

Harry said, "He started it. He was mimicking me."

"He was mimicking me!" Percy repeated and dodged Harry's swipe.

"Hey, now! No fighting!" Sally said.

"He started it." Harry mumbled and Percy said the same thing.

"See!" Harry yelled.

"Pumpkin, stop attacking your brother. Pepe, stop…uh… mimicking your brother."

Thankfully, they didn't do anything else. She was quite amazed. At this age, children would go out of their way to annoy their parents, but Percy and Harry did no such thing.

"Percy kicked me!" Harry shouted and brought Sally back.

She grabbed Percy's ear and twisted it. "Ow!"

"Say sorry." Sally said firmly letting go of his now pink ear. Percy mumbled the apology and Harry said, "It's okay."

"Go play nicely. Mummy is going to make donuts."

"Yes! Can we help?"

"No!" Sally shouted remembering the last time. She didn't want to get a new oven again.

Harry noticed Percy's crestfallen expression and said, "We can play hide-and-seek, if you want."

Percy immediately lit up. "You're counting!"

Sally smiled and went into the kitchen. She should have enrolled Percy in soccer. She giggled. The last time she had thought exactly that was when she was minutes away from going into labour. That was a weird day…

* * *

_10:12 a.m. – 18__th__ August, 1996._

Sally turned another page of Kimmy's magazine, Sparkle. There was no other reading material in the Laundry room and the bundle of clothes in the washing machine was undergoing the slowest process of getting cleaned, ever. Did that even make sense?

There was a kick and Sally winced. This baby really loved to remind her that she was heavily pregnant. She was nearly nine months along. She carefully kept her hand on her large belly feeling the roundness. She didn't want to think of the stretch marks it would cause on her skin. But she didn't feel horribly repulsed by the thought of it. It would be worth it to hold the angel in her arms.

"You seriously wanna get out so soon, honey? Most people spend nine months trying to get out and the rest of their lives trying to get back in. If you keep kicking me, you'll have to start paying rent. If you don't have the money, at least let me sleep for a good four hours at night."

There was some pain in her back and Sally tried to massage it. She started to take deep long breaths to calm herself.

The pain became a bit sharp and she felt herself starting to breathe more quickly. Oh no!

"No, sweety! Not now! Kimmy's in the supermarket! Let her come back and then –"

Sally gasped. It started to pain a lot now.

She grabbed a pencil from a stand for emergencies and wrote 'Baby. ' on the magazine.

She tried not to swear out loud as she stood up. Trying to reach the phone booth to call the supermarket was not a good idea. Apparently, the baby was supposed to move, not the mother.

Sally thanked every God on Olympus that the Laundry Room was on the ground floor of their apartment. If she could get the watchman to help her get a taxi…

"Allan!" She shouted. She didn't hear any response.

"Allan, I really need help here!" Sally yelled but then with a jolt remembered that it was a Monday.

He had to escort his grandmother to the cemetery for her ritual visit to her husband! Allan wasn't there. The temp guy hadn't arrived yet. Oh this was her day, wasn't it?

"Okay. Okay, baby. Let's take this one step at a time, shall we?" The baby must have objected to that because Sally winced with every step. She grabbed on to the door and pulled herself out. The roads were a bit busy seeing as it was the first day after the weekend. There were a few people hurrying about on the footpath and Sally clenched her eyes to start her Lamaze breathing.

She walked a few more steps and tried to yell for a taxi.

"Anyone! I need a ride to –" One yellow cab zipped by so fast that she threw some curses out at the driver.

The baby kicked a little hard and Sally prayed out loud, "I will put you in soccer practice. Please save your kicks for then!"

She put her fingers in her mouth and gave a blast of whistle. A cab stopped right next to her and she opened the door with relief and said, "St. George Hospital, please!"

"It's gonna take some time 'cause of a traffic block, Miss." The driver turned around and his eyes widened.

"Holy son of a –"

"Patrick!" Sally asked shocked. What were odds of meeting the last man she wanted to on her never-meet-again list?

"Sally? This cannot be happening!"

"Do you hate me?!" She screamed looking up and made to move outside but groaned. She clutched her stomach and Patrick stared at her, "Oh crap! Hold on!"

He started the engine and went on full speed turning a right. Sally clutched her stomach as she felt another kick. She screamed at Patrick, "The hospital's that way!"

"I told you there's a block! Some sucker crashed into an ambulance, drunk. Good thing he was sensible enough to run into the empty ambulance."

Patrick turned sharply and Sally felt the fabric of her pants wet.

"No, no, no! Not here! Not in a cab! Especially his cab!" Sally groaned.

"What's wrong with my cab?" He protested and ran a red light. The car jerked and Sally flinched.

"Hello! Pregnant woman back here! Mind going more smoothly?"

"I'm sorry but you have reached a bad number!" Patrick yelled and the car nearly flew of the road and narrowly missed banging against a hydrant. Sally fell back trying to get her bearings. She was in close proximity with a man she had sworn herself to hate, she was feeling dizzy, the pain was too much and she was in labour.

"Five more minutes, Sally!"

"Kill me!"

"If I did, my conscience would haunt me forever for taking the life of an unborn child."

"It's not going to remain unborn anymore!"

"Really, I had no idea!"

"Enough with the sarcasm!"

"I think I have the right to say whatever I want. We're in my cab! It ain't a democracy!"

"What are you talking about? It is!"

"No! It's the United States of Patrick Jane! I'm the President, the Emperor and the Imperial Ruler!"

"I'm voting for the other guy!"

"There is no other guy! Besides, no voting!"

"Arghh! That's it! I'm having the baby in your cab!"

"Calm down. Only four more minutes left!"

"Kill me!"

Patrick made another turn and cursed. The traffic was getting bigger. He looked into the mirror and reversed all the way back 20 yards and made a 270 degree turn.

"_I will skin you alive, Patrick_!"

"Concentrate on breathing!"

"I can't! Can I hold your hand?"

Patrick sighed and held his left hand backwards. Sally grabbed it as another contraction went through.

"Don't crush it!" Patrick yelled and turned back to glare at her. Sally screamed as if someone was cutting through her. "It can't hurt that much!" He shouted.

Sally grabbed his face and turned it to the front. Patrick cursed in a very colourful language and turned the wheel to avoid Central Park fence. People shouted at the cab and Patrick flipped them.

Sally bit into her handkerchief. This was horrible.

"Ugh! Did you know that I fell in love with the last guy who drove like this! At least he wasn't aiming to kill me!"

"Let's hope that doesn't happen again! The first time between us was bad enough!"

"Nearly there. Nearly there. Nearly there." Patrick murmured and made one final turn into the road in front of the hospital. He stopped the car with tires screeching along with the woman inside. He got out to help Sally and when the door was shut she kicked him in the shin and punched him on the chest.

"Were you seriously trying to kill me?!" She shrieked and then clutched her stomach again. Patrick half carried, half-dragged her towards the reception. The woman behind the desk, who had been conversing with a man, gaped. She immediately leaned into her microphone and said, "Dr. Howard to room 307 ple –"

"I'm right here!" The man next to her interrupted and called for a nurse to get a wheel chair.

"Lamaze Breathing, Ma'am. It's going to be okay."

Sally glared at him, "You have no idea what I'm going through!"

"Of course not, Miss. Nurse!"

They got her into a wheel chair and Patrick said, "All the pregnant ladies tell you that, right?"

The Doctor nodded and said, "You need to get into the robes please. Wilma, a mask? Quickly!"

Patrick protested, "No, y …you don't understand. I'm not –"

But two nurses got him into lime green robes and a mask and pushed him inside the room.

* * *

Kimberly panted as she reached the hospital. Stupid road block. How long could it take to clear out 17 streets of bumper-to-bumper traffic?

She ran straight into the glass doors and groaned clutching her nose. Opening them she ran up to the receptionist and asked, "Sally Jackson. She must have come here at least half an hour ago!"

The lady looked through her register and said, "Yeah, pregnant woman, went into labour, she checked in with her husband 18 minutes ago, actually. Your relation?"

"Husband? What are you talking about?" Kim asked shocked. Did Poseidon actually come?

"A man came in with her. He drove her here. He shouldn't have a license if you ask me."

Definitely Poseidon.

"I'm her sister. What room?"

"Room 307, ground floor."

"Really 307 is on the ground floor?" Kim asked trying to stop from smiling. The receptionist raised her eyebrows and Kim said, "Yeah. I'm going!"

* * *

At the sound of the baby's first cry, everyone relaxed. Patrick stretched his fingers of his left hand which had been in a death grip for the past two hours. Kimberly hugged Sally and the doctor handed over a small blue bundle to the exhausted new mother.

Dr. Howard smiled, "It's a boy." He handed over the flailing infant to Sally. The moment she took him and hugged him close, the baby quietened some.

"You did good, Sally." He left along with the two nurses.

A small hand poked out of the bundle and the baby yawned. Kimberly cooed and Sally kissed his head. He already had some hair on his head. It was soft, thin and black, but it would grow out to be thicker after a few months. The baby's eyes were still closed.

Kimberly slowly touched the infant's hand with her index finger, running it over his dimpled knuckles. The tiny fingers turned and clutched her larger one tightly. Sally stroked the pale pink cheeks and his tiny baby pink eyelids fluttered.

The baby blinked and beautiful dark blue irises stared back at the sisters. Sally knew that they would turn into sea-green later.

"He's perfect. Absolutely perfect, Sally. I forgive you for meeting his dad." Kimberly whispered. Sally couldn't speak. She felt as if she could stare at the angel in her arms for ever and never tire.

"And now may I ask what is he doing here?" Kim questioned looking at Patrick who was staring out of the window.

"Patrick!" She called a little louder and Sally elbowed her. Patrick turned to look at the women to say, "I thought there was someone outside the window".

Kimberly turned to see the scene of a partial garden and looked back at him with a scowl, "Don't change the topic. Why are you here?"

"I wasn't changing the topic. I think there really was somebody. But he might be gone now."

Kimberly glared at him and he sighed, "I was driving the cab. It was my cab. She got in. Did you think I would have pushed her out in that state? I'm not that heartless."

"No, you are not that heartless to push a pregnant woman out of a cab." Kimberly said and sat down.

Patrick sighed again, "I know you'll never forgive me, but I was in love."

"I was in love too, Patrick." Sally looked up.

Patrick winced, "I didn't mean to… I…I loved Angela more. I still love her. I'm sorry."

Sally shook her head, "I will not forgive or forget you. But I accept your apology."

"We're still the ones with the last laugh. We're doing quite well and you are driving a cab." Kimberly said leaning against the wall. Patrick rolled his eyes, "Driving's a cover. My real work is different."

Sally groaned and Kimberly said, "We don't wanna know!"

"Why? Do you think it's illegal? Well, it kinda is…"

"That's my limit. Nothing but happy conversations from now on especially when Perseus is in the room." Sally said firmly.

The room was silent and then Patrick said, "Perseus? Really Sally?"

"Percy for short. Pepe for his nickname."

"Percy Jackson. It rings, I suppose." Kim said, shrugging.

"Of course it does. He needs a hero's name because that's what he's going to be." Sally said rubbing her nose with little Percy's tiny one.

"A hero? Okay, I'm leaving. Nice to see you, bye." Patrick left after dumping the operation robes and gloves.

Kimberly rolled her eyes. "He may have been your first boyfriend, but if you meet him again, don't cut him any slack."

* * *

Sally sighed as she took in the scent of the donuts. The blue colour was not bad and she knew that the boys would finish it in ten minutes. She stared at the colour and realized that she was actually a sucker for blue-eyed guys. Patrick had sky-blue eyes, Poseidon had sea-blue irises and most of her boyfriends had bluish eyes save for a few.

This seemed a bit wrong on a few levels considering that she herself had blue irises. Pale blue which perturbed many people if she stared at them for too long.

Of course, people were scared only because of the shade. The lighter the colour, the more dangerous the person looked. That was the view of the public but she had read an article about having dark coloured eyes were better to perceive speed of the movement of objects.

Wow. From kicks to eyes. Thoughts are the fastest things in the world.

And what was with her and crazy cab drivers?

* * *

**It's a bit smaller, because her memory was short. But still good, right? R&R.**

**Stay tuned for the last chapter where she meets her final love!**

**Cabba.**


	3. Catching Cappuccino Cups

**The last chapter. The suspense is building…**

**Warning – Sally and Paul do not get together in my version.**

**Time – A month before Sea of Monsters.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the PJO series. There is slight mention of HP which I don't own either. Just this plot.**

**Words – 1337**

* * *

"Congratulations, Ms. Jackson. I'm sure there will be another book to follow as sequel." Mr. Blofis said as he shook Sally's hand. The woman smiled with dazzling teeth and said, "What makes you think that there will be a sequel, Mr. Blofis?"

"Oh, I can tell. Anyway, I should leave or I'll be late for a dinner with my girlfriend." He bid her goodbye and Sally shook her head. Yes, she had been thinking of a sequel to her successfully published book, 'Life's Greatest Gift.' The book very vaguely referred to her own memories of having Percy.

May be the next one would be about having uncontrollable twins in their terrible twoes. Fiction, of course.

Sally made her way to the Café in the huge multi-purpose building, FameLit. She had just finished her first ever book reading and she couldn't believe how many women and even men had turned up. The entire Hall had been booked.

"A small cappuccino to go, please." She told the lady behind the counter. Paying her, Sally sipped her cup, imagining the first thing she would do with her new earned money. Book two ship tickets to London.

But when? Not during Percy's school year. Summer and Winter were too important as he had to train at Camp. He couldn't afford to miss that.

Which meant she had to book only one ticket. Sally stood in the middle of the Café as she thought this over. If she was booking only for one, then it was best to do by plane. But she could easily imagine freezing up at every jerk of the flight. It was safest to go by sea, though it would take much longer.

The longer it took the more variable the choices were of finding her little Pumpkin there. A few more months and he'd be fourteen. Sally vowed to herself that she was going to see him before he turned fourteen.

She hoped Percy and Tyson were doing alright at school. She had to go file a report about how the students were treating Tyson. Just because he was a Cyclops didn't mean that he was supposed to be picked on. She was glad that Percy stuck with him. She finished her cup and was about to go and dump it in a bin when someone bumped into her from the back so hard that she was caught off guard and fell down with a thud.

Sally groaned and pushed herself up. The man had fallen down too and his camera had hit the ground rather hard. She winced as she clutched her elbow where her funny bone had hit the linoleum.

"Oh, fiddlesticks! I am so sorry, Ma'am. I wasn't seeing where I was going. I hope you didn't greet the ground too hard."

He helped her stand and picked up her handbag and empty cup along with his camera. She stared at him.

He had black hair which was graying at a few places around his ears. He had a fresh smell around him. No, he hadn't put any cologne, but that just made her more curious. Nearly every testosterone fueled being had cologne on to hide body odour, but he was different. He just gave out a feeling of when rain hit the dirt. Not that exact smell. This was more of remembering it.

She looked into his eyes as he looked back into hers. His eyes were blue. Blue ringed around the pupil. It looked unnaturally dark. She had a feeling as if this man had been through hell and back. She was glad that he was back.

Sally wasn't sure why she had that thought, but she knew that he was different. Different how? She wasn't sure. But something about him reminded her of Harry, whose eyes were dulled because of what had happened so many years ago.

But the person standing in front of her looked entranced. She realized that neither of them had moved from each other's gazes. Sally looked at his pale skin. He needed more sun. As much as her! Gods themselves know that she was probably paler than an albino.

Then, she wasn't sure why, she smiled. It came easily when she was staring at him. Staring at this complete stranger who had her thinking so fast, she felt young again. Like a sixteen year old who'd gossip about scandals and the hottest topics. A teenage girl who'd look and comment on cute boys and then giggle with her sister and friends.

It was like this guy was bringing that young girl back. That young girl who didn't have as many responsibilities, as she did now.

Sally relaxed into her smile and she felt that she probably looked a little stupid for smiling and staring at a stranger for so long. But this stranger smiled at her and she felt her heart fluttering. He was good-looking when he smiled. Not that he wasn't when he didn't let his lips turn upwards, but to feel something for a person without taking notice of his good looks or lack thereof had seemed to be very far-fetched to her.

All her previous boyfriends where rated according to their looks, charms, dressing styles and then personalities.

This man had charmed her socks off with even a word.

Sally dimly remembered her throbbing elbow and she turned it a bit. It shook the guy of their silent encounter and he stammered, "I…uh…here's your stuff. Um…really sorry…"

She took her bag and cup. He hadn't let go of it and she was holding on to it.

The tips of his fingers were touching hers. There was no spark, no heat, no feeling at all. Nothing like how romance tales would depict the hero and heroine meeting for the first time.

She stared into his eyes. For a moment she wondered if something flashed past in front of her, but she ignored it and just looked at him with what was probably an idiotic expression on her face.

Her fingers felt numb along with his. Or maybe there was a feeling. Something which she had never experienced before and therefore couldn't explain.

His fingers weren't exactly soft. He must have done some manual labour. Touching his skin made her heart go light and she nearly forgot about worrying for Harry. Not worrying was something she hadn't done in a long time.

She liked this feeling. She never wanted let go.

It seemed that he had the same idea. His smile turned into a grin and she thought he looked stupid. It was quite endearing. And sweet. And cute. And adorable.

She hadn't realized how long they had been standing there until there was somebody clearing their throat.

Sally and the man turned to look at a guy probably the man's age. He had light brown hair and… oh, what the hell? He had blue eyes too!

But compared to the one in front of her, these new pair of irises went without her inspection.

Apparently her subconscious had picked out her significant half.

"Do you both have any idea how long you were standing and staring at each other?"

Sally had the strangest feeling that he wanted to add, "like idiots" at the end of the query.

"No. We don't. Care to enlighten us, brother?" Her other half said and she realized that they had British accents.

"Close to seven minutes. I don't think you even blinked."

Sally and her mystery man shared a glance and she blushed.

"Sorry, I… uh…I have to get going…nice to meet you!" She garbled and snatched the cup away from him. She didn't look back at the duo as she went out of the building and into her car.

Deep breaths, woman. You are a grown up. You have to focus on getting back your son. Dating can be done later…

Sally put the key into the slot and turned the engine on. She was about to reverse out of the parking lot when she saw the cup sitting on the dashboard. She stared at it for a few minutes before realizing that she couldn't throw it away.

She floored it and drove away from the building having the strangest feeling that if she went back the next day, he'd be there, waiting for her.

* * *

**Short and sweet. How was the suspense? Did it kill you? Nearly flat-lined me, but I'm okay.**

**Stay tuned for the next update on 'The Cursed.'**

**Cabba.**


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